Prime Time Top 40 Showcase: Team 2 Player Evaluations

The Prime Time Top 40 Showcase took place this past Saturday and it’s time to take a look at how each participant performed. After some skill work, the players were split into four teams who played three games each.

Here’s a look at how the members of Team 2 performed (listed in order of their uniform number):

Jalen Brown, Jefferson (2019)

Brown played aggressive offensively, whether it was taking it strong to the basket and finishing with a flush or launching it from three-point range. The athletic 6-foot-3 wing remains one of the more underrated players in the Class of 2019.

Shane Nowell, Eastside Catholic (2021)

As noted in our top performers, Nowell certainly looks the part already physically. But his performance was rock solid as the lefty pretty much scored whenever he wanted to, on drives or on perimeter jumpers. There’s no question Nowell will be a national recruit by the time he’s done at the prep level.

Damontae Burns, Parkrose (2021)

A talented all-around combo guard, Burns was fairly quiet at the event as in the games we saw we don’t recall him scoring many points. But as usual he took care of the ball when he had it and worked hard on both ends.

Nathan Bittle, Crater (2021)

Bittle was one of the main attractions at the event, as the top-ranked player in the Class of 2021 and the one with the most national recognition after a summer where he picked up offers from the upper tier Pac-12 schools. Standing 6-foot-10 with extreme length, Bittle made his mark defensively as a shot-blocker for sure. On offense, he did seem to focus on floating on the perimeter where he launched – and made – some deep threes. But Bittle did try to post up a couple of times and did slash to the bucket where teammates found him for some easy buckets. Right after the event, Bittle made an unofficial trip to Oregon State where he picked up his latest scholarship offer from the Beavers. He will be participating in USA Basketball camp this weeked.

Joey Rodrick, Cleveland (2019)

Rodrick was a late replacement and held his own against the talent on hand. Like several others on Saturday, the 6-foot-4 senior didn’t touch the ball as much as others did but he showed a good touch from the perimeter with a couple of canned jumpers and also got himself a dunk on one fast break.

Cobee Crawford, Benson (2020)

Also a late invitee, Crawford made the most out of the opportunities he received. The 6-foot junior is a power guard and took it to the basket strong and drew some fouls. He also hit a couple of perimeter jumpers.

Kaelan O’Neil, Churchill (2020)

O’Neil played extremely aggressive on the offensive end, taking the ball hard to the basket and absorbing contact. He fought hard especially on the offensive glass with one board resulting in a memorable follow-up dunk.

Evan Inglesby, Barlow (2020)

Inglesby was another late invitee who made some noise, maybe not so much so offensively but in other aspects of the game. He was one of the top rebounders at the showcase despite his 6-foot-3 frame, with many of the boards coming simply from outworking the opponent.

Jonathan Nchekwube, Jefferson (2019)

Like many of the post players at the event, Nchekwube didn’t get many touches in the paint on offense. So the 6-foot-7 senior focused on hitting the boards hard, using his athletic frame to grab balls that came around his area. Nchekwube was also effective getting the ball out to the guards on the break after grabbing the rebound.

Emanuel Steward, Grant (2020)

Steward is a shooter, pure and simple. He may not have shot the ball as well as we’ve seen in the past (Portland State Elite Camp prominently comes to mind) but he was able to hit some perimeter jumpers, using a dribble or two to create some space for himself.

Aaron Deloney, Grant (2019)

There is no question we have seen Deloney play before at a much higher level than what we all saw on Saturday. The 6-foot senior’s shot simply wasn’t on for the most part. But as has been the case all off-season, when Deloney’s shot isn’t falling he turned his focus onto other ways he can impact the game and he was pretty on point with his passing. He and Bittle seemed to develop a repertoire of sorts as he found the big man for easy buckets underneath or open threes on kick outs.